A cooling system contains a heat source to be cooled, for example a driving engine of a motor vehicle, that is cooled by a coolant via free or forced convections. The temperature difference from the heat source depends on the heat input and the coolant flow, while the temperature of the coolant is determined from the heat input of the heat source, the heat derivation via the cooler located in the circulation, and the heat capacities of the materials. Vehicle development focuses, for example, on need-based control or regulation of the cooling system with the objective of reducing energy consumption, decreasing potentially occurring emissions or maintaining emission limit values, and also increasing the comfort level. In this context, critical thermal loading limits of components may not be exceeded. A critical temperature is for example the temperature of the cylinder head of an internal combustion engine used as a driving engine.
Temperature sensors that record the temperatures of components of an internal combustion engine or other components to be cooled are described, for example, in the engine engineering journal MTZ 62 (2001) 1, pages 30 to 35, “A cylinder sealing concept for future internal combustion engine generations.” The temperature sensors may situated in the cylinder head gasket.
A method for the optimal control of the cooling performance of an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle is further described in from German Published Patent Application No. 100 35 770.
A regulating structure or a regulating strategy for controlling the cooling system of a motor vehicle based on a desired coolant temperature is described, for example, in the two German Patent Application Nos. 101 63 944.9 and 101 53 943.0.